An abundance of story lines emerged during NASCAR's extended stay in Daytona, creating a whirlwind of discussion throughout the opening week of the season.

From the debut of the new Generation-6 cars to Saturday's horrific crash at the end of the Nationwide Series race; NASCAR certainly stole its fair share of headlines.

Not to mention, Danica, Danica and well, more Danica.

It was a mixture of positive and negative, leaving plenty to debate following the 55th running of the Great American Race.

First and foremost, thoughts remain with the families of the 28 spectators injured during the frightening incident on the final lap of Saturday's Nationwide event, when Kyle Larson's car was nearly sheared in half after getting airborne and entangled in the catch fence, launching pieces of debris into the grandstands.

Undoubtedly, NASCAR will examine the evidence and react accordingly to further safety measures for both drivers and fans in the coming months. It was a freak, yet alarming occurrence, serving as a reminder of the dangers associated with vehicles traveling inches apart at 200 mph.

Reiterating what Tony Stewart said in victory lane on Saturday, drivers assume the risk of injury every time they're on the track. When it comes to the fans, circumstances drastically change.

To NASCAR's credit, their advances in safety allowed all drivers involved to walk away unscathed. I for one am confident they will do everything possible to assure the same for future spectators.

Onto a less emotional topic, the new Sprint Cup cars look sweet. Manufacturers are as recognizable as ever, bringing the concept of 'stock' back to stock car racing.

As for how the Gen-6s performed in the Daytona 500, well, that wasn't quite as glamorous.

Single-file parades still comprised a significant portion of the 200 laps run on Sunday, contradicting the fundamental idea that these new cars would coincide with better racing.

It's not about producing more wrecks, it's about keeping viewers entertained via more competition. Aside from the final 20 laps, the Gen-6 rides didn't live up to the billing in that respect.

To be fair, all transitions experience growing pains, which is why I'm not giving up on NASCAR's revitalization project after just one race. Instead, let's wait and see how the new cars perform over the next three weeks, with stops at Phoenix, Las Vegas and Bristol offering a diverse sample-size of venues to base judgment.

Of the 36 point-bearing races on the schedule, only four are at restrictor-plate super-speedways (Daytona and Talladega), meaning Sunday was not necessarily indicative of what's to come. Speaking on behalf of most fans, at least we hope not.

And then, there's Danica. To the purists, Danica Patrick has been nothing more than a marketing tool used by the sport in an effort to appeal to a larger audience. Following an impressive rookie debut at Speedweeks, she certainly made a convincing case to the contrary.

Page 2 of 2 - After making history by becoming the first female to qualify on the pole for the 500, Patrick ran toward the front of the field throughout the race's entirety, even finding herself in position to win on the final lap before ultimately being shuffled back to an eighth-place finish.

I'm assuming Patrick's performance earned her a heightened level of respect among competitors, much in the same way it did among the naysayers.

The attention she's garnering is actually rivaling that of Dale Jr., with popularity likely to follow.

Across the board, 'Danica Mania' is good for a sport that has recently struggled to fill the seats, as evident by a substantial increase in preliminary TV ratings for Sunday's season opener (up 30 percent from 2012).

I only ask that we take a similar approach to Danica as we do with the new Gen-6 cars — let's wait and see. While she clearly trumped presumptions at Daytona, what she does outside of the super-speedway realm will truly define her progression behind the wheel of a stock car.

Patrick herself has done a nice job publicly tempering her own expectations. It would be wise for others to do the same.

Much like Sunday's race, the NASCAR season is a 10-month marathon capped by a sprint to the finish, with experience seeming to prevail more times than not.

Just ask Jimmie Johnson, a five-time champion and now a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, all of which has also somehow taken a backseat to the phenomenon known as Danica.